Verdicts Ledger
Every Field Report we have published, with the one number that settles it. Prices are US list prices on the date shown, and each verdict links to the piece where the arithmetic is in the open.
| Machine | Measured | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Wood-Mizer's LX30 Portable Sawmill — and Its 22-Inch Ceiling | 2026-08-24 | $2,995 breaks even at 5,445 board feet of custom sawing at $0.55. Below that, paying the sawyer is cheaper. |
| The Garden Ripens All at Once. Harvest Right's $1,695 Freeze Dryer. | 2026-08-22 | $1,695 buys about 416 pounds a year at a realistic pace — not the 1,800 the company advertises. |
| Virtual Fencing for Cattle: Nofence's $309 GPS Collar | 2026-08-21 | $89.80 per cow per year against $188 for fence, over the five-year warranty. |
| QYSEA's FIFISH V6 Expert ROV Checks Hulls Without a Diver | 2026-08-20 | $2,999 against $250 per diver inspection: breakeven at 12 inspections, or five haul-outs. |
| Langmuir CrossFire PRO: A Plasma Table for One-Off Steel Parts | 2026-08-17 | A $5,133 working stack breaks even at 184 one-off parts — or 2,517 batched ones. |
| A Balcony Solar Kit You Plug Into a Wall — and Its 1,200-Watt Ceiling | 2026-08-16 | About $1.99 per watt of panel — $2.28 per watt its inverters deliver — against $2.60 for a contractor install. An 800-watt kit returns $184 to $258 a year, under a legal ceiling of 1,200 watts. |
| Nobody Answers the Phone. ElevenLabs' AI Receptionist Does. | 2026-08-13 | $22–$99 a month against $250 for a human answering service that covers fewer minutes. |
| EGO Nexus 1400 Turns Mower Batteries Into a Backup Power Station | 2026-08-12 | Beats gasoline 5-to-1 on running cost at $599–$799. The catch is capacity, not price. |
| Crop Spraying Without a Plane: DJI's Agras T100 Spray Drone | 2026-08-08 | Owning costs about $10.44 an acre at 2,000 acres against $12.50 hired, once the T100's real $39,999 replaces the $23,000 drone in MU's model. Break-even moves from 980 acres to roughly 1,300. |
| Segway Navimow X450: A $2,999 Robot Mower for 40° Slopes | 2026-08-03 | $2,999 against $99–$264 per crew visit: breakeven in 12 to 31 mows. Worth it on lots up to its rated 1.5 acres, with grades that defeat 2WD robots. |